Had Enough
by My-Crimson-Tears
Summary: Abandoned by everyone, she was forced to leave everything behind with only one goal:to become stronger.Tired of everyone looking down on her, she helps the infamous Itachi, hoping his traning would help her take revenge on the village she once called home
1. Prisoner

**well hi, I was bored so I thought of this during school when I **_**wasn't **_**asleep lol not much of it yet, but its a working progress lol**

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**Chapter 1: Prisoner**

_'gotta get away...'_

her mind was racing, tears fell from her panic stricken face as she ran through the forest

daring to look behind her, she realised it was a mistake. she was caught in a daze and her chaser didn't seem to flinch as her body hit a branch full on and fell to the ground.

as her jade eyes closed, she caught a glimpse of red, then it all went dark

**----------------**

pink hair swayed against black as the young girl regained consciousness. she was still slightly dizzy and felt very dis-orientated

"what's going on?" she asked aloud

"you are now a prisoner of the Akatsuki"

"oh..."

"are you scared kunoichi?"

the cloaked figure felt her shake her head

"and whys that?"

"I have no reason to fear death now. I am alone, abandoned by my own village..."

"I highly doubt the Hidden Leaf would do that"

the petite girl remained silent

"I've been watching you...Haruno Sakura"

"perv..." she mumbled

the figure inwardly chuckled "do you know who your talking to?"

she shook her head again "not that I care anyway"

"oh I think you will"

"and whys that?"

Sakura's eyes widened as she was roughly thrown to the ground. rubbing her sore behind, she readied her mouth to yell at whoever it was for throwing her on the floor. but her mouth immediately shut as red eyes illuminated the darkness.

she stared at him, fear now evident in her once bright eyes, he was satisfied with her reaction. she knew she was in the hands of an Akatsuki, but she didn't know _**who**_

"Uchiha Itachi..." she breathed

he moved closer to her and smirked as she backed away until she collided with a tree

"are you scared now?" he asked pushing his face in front of hers

but he frowned as the kunoichi shut her eyes tightly and looked away

"are you too afraid to look at me now?"

Sakura's trembling form still refused to turn to him

Itachi sighed, he knew why she wouldn't look at him, and it was a pain to do something he hadn't done in a while

"its safe to look at me now"

for some unknown reason, Sakura believed him and slowly, she re-opened her eyes to meet dark onyx ones.

but her scream fell silent as he reactivated his Mankekyou, trapping her mind within his eyes

_'I want to know...'_

-------------

opening her eyes, Sakura was met with a blood red sky, she looked around

"this is Konoha..."

scanning the sky again and the deserted, breezeless streets, she reconsidered

"this is **not** Konoha"

"Hey Sakura-Chan!"

Sakura turned around as she heard the familiar voice. she walked towards the ninja to greet him, only for him to run..._straight through her? _looking behind her, she saw Naruto talking to..._her?_ only it wasn't her, she was standing right behind him, wasn't she?

_'what the fu-'_

but she was cut from her thoughts as she heard Naruto yell

"Sasuke-teme's back!"

her blood ran cold, but she could see pure happiness mixed with shock plastered across the other Sakura

it then suddenly hit her

_'this is my past...'_

following her past self and Naruto, she felt her heart ache as black and dark pink came into view.

as anger fuelled her body, she charged forward throwing a chakra filled fist at the dark pinkette. but the satisfaction of the blow never came, as her fist flew straight through the girl.

_'oh right...I cant touch anyone'_ she growled to herself

she then redirected her attention back to her past

"Sasuke-kun...is it really you?" the young pinkette whispered to her old crush

"hn"

Sakura smiled as she made a gesture to rush forward and hug him, but her attempt was in vain as she was blocked

"Sasuke-_**kun**_, who is this?" demanded the other present girl

"oh hi, I'm Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you"

"whatever, just don't touch me or _my_ Sasuke-kun"

"hey! hey! who the hell are you?!" yelled Naruto

the older Sakura felt her heart reach out for the blonde , but her gaze darkened as the girl stepped forward yet again

"**I** am Karin, and I'm also Sasuke-kun's _fiancé_"

Sakura knew that last part was directed at her as Karin shoved her ringed finger in he face. Naruto's jaw dropped and stared at Sasuke, then to Sakura. he knew her mind and heart had just been shattered into a million pieces

_'Sakura...'_

the older Sakura cried out in pain as she watched her younger self smile through _her_ pain to say "congratulation"

she then bowed and ran off. Naruto turned to Sasuke

"teme..." he growled before running after the emotionally unstable Sakura

older Sakura fell to the ground, screaming in mental pain. the old wound that she had tried so hard to heal over the years, was just suddenly ripped open within seconds. her heartbreak. she grabbed her head ad shook it.

"stop it...stop it!"

"why?" came a silky voice

"Itachi! let me out!"

she stood and ran, she ran to her house hoping it would shield her.

but as she yanked open the door to her room, it felt like the whole world came crushing down on her. in **her** bed, and in the middle of a hot, sweaty sex session was none other than Sasuke and his slut of a fiancé. she could've sworn she even saw Sasuke turn to her and smirk. Sakura couldn't move, she was paralysed to the spot as the love making continued. she watched as he slammed into Karin, giving her what she wanted. realization finally hit her when Karin screamed, disgusted she ran from her house and back into the streets.

"make it stop please!" she cried

"but it's amusing"

"your sick"

she heard him chuckle in the wind "so I've been told"

Sakura screamed in aggravation and ran, but she couldn't escape him. she was in his world now, he was in control. she carried on running until she was out of breath, every time she thought she was safe Sasuke and Karin would appear before her eyes, destroying her sanity bit by bit.

eventually, exhausted from pain, she collapsed on the dark green grass and breathed heavily.

"why are you doing this?"

"because I want to know"

"know what?"

"why your running away"

"I'm not running away from anything" she snapped sitting up against a tree

her breath silently caught in her throat as Itachi's figure appeared before her shaky form

"your lying"

Sakura spat at him, she was surprised at unlike the others, her saliva landed on his cloak and slithered its way down

"oh I'm real" he murmured

"unfortunately"

his hand closed around her slender throat, pushing her up the tree, which she made no struggle against. he arched an eyebrow as Sakura stared into his red eyes with no hesitation whatsoever.

"why did you run away?"

avoiding the question, Sakura raked her nails down the side of Itachi's face, making him flinch at the human contact. had she actually touched him?

"your so alike.." she mumbled

Itachi frowned "who?"

"you and...Sasuke"

she felt his grip on her throat tighten and she coughed slightly from the lack of air

"we...are _**nothing**_ alike"

Sakura laughed "more than you think actually"

"and why would that be?"

"your cold-hearted, you play with people's minds; and you don't care about anyone but yourself"

Itachi sighed, she hated him because she hated his brother.

"I'm not usually this talkative, but I'll ask you one more time, why did you run away?"

"go to hell Uchiha"

he threw her to the ground "maybe I should just dig a bit deeper, bring up all those unwanted memories to get my answer"

Sakura glared at him as she stood up "get out of my fucking mind"

with that, she forced everything she had into her right fist, then slammed it into the ground, shattering everything within a 10 mile radius

Itachi was impressed with her strength, she really was a worthwhile hostage and would prove to be very useful indeed. as he was mid-air he felt a severe pain shoot through his eyes and he fell to the ground, barley landing on his feet. Sakura saw this and ran at him, acting immediately he pulled them out of the inverted reality.

--------------------

as they were brought out of the inverse world, Sakura stared blankly at him, panting slightly.

"why do you want me?"

Itachi took his hand away from his eyes and stared back her

"you...your going blind aren't you?"

Itachi nodded. to her own dislike, Sakura too nodded "I ran away because it was too painful to stay in Konoha"

he stared at her, _'just how much pain can you cause one beautiful girl...foolish little brother_'

"I'll help you" she breathed

**-------------------------**

**hope it wasn't too short, but I always get these new ideas, and I just have to write them lol**

**review and let me know what you think k x.x.x**


	2. My Realisation

**Thank you all so much for the uber positive response to this new story, it's really boosted my spirits now; which is really hard at the moment as I have a REALLY bad cold ¬.¬ typical British weather**

**Chapter 2: My Realisation**

Sakura shivered violently on the ground as she tried to get some sleep. After she had agreed to help Itachi, they immediately set off. It had been 3 days since that day now and Sakura had collapsed as soon as Itachi said they were stopping for the night.

He had lit a fire, but Sakura felt no warmth from it at all. She hugged herself tightly, hoping that tightening her muscles would warm her up.

At one point, she heard Itachi's cloak rustle and thought he was going to be generous for once in his murderous life and lend it to her. Looking up slightly, she saw he had barley opened it, but he re-adjusted himself so he was leaning on a small log. 

Who was she kidding? This was THE Uchiha Itachi for crying out loud. Being nice was the last thing on his mind.

Trying to forget everything, sleep finally claimed her. But it seemed too good to be true as she was abruptly pulled from the ground and slung over someone's shoulder

"what's going on?" she slurred

"we're moving"

"why?"

"nin on our trail"

"who?"

"the leaf"

Sakura gasped "what?"

"seems like they didn't completely abandon you then"

She remained silent

"do you want to go back?"

Sakura felt Itachi stop on a tree branch and place her against the trunk

"do you want me to go?" she asked looking into his eyes

He placed a hand by her head

"I'm still awaiting my answer Kunoichi"

"my answer is…"

She trailed off as she heard an all too familiar voice call her name

'_Naruto…'_

"well?"

Sakura looked at him, tears almost threatening to fall

"no"

Her voice cracked. Itachi smirked and nodded. Activating his Mankekyou , he created an illusion over himself and Sakura. She had to restrain herself from hugging the blonde as he passed her. It almost hurt that he didn't notice her, but then she remembered, she was an illusion right now; and nothing more.

"foolish little brother" mumbled Itachi

Sakura turned to look at him "what?"

He jerked his head in the direction behind her, and she followed his gaze. Sure enough, Sasuke was there, she was even convinced he was staring right at her. Then behind him was the Queen of all bitches. Karin.

"you don't like her?"

Sakura shook her head, not even bothering to look at Itachi

"why's that?"

"you should know, you _**were **_ in my mind" she scoffed

'_I think I'll play with her a little'_ he thought and smirked "she is quite pretty"

He could definitely feel Sakura's chakra grow darker as he said that, he knew he was touching a nerve, but still decided to push her even further

Itachi's eyes widened a fraction as she _lightly_ hit the tree they were standing on and jump down

"whatever…"

However, the next second the whole tree caved in on itself, bark flying everywhere. He cursed slightly as this broke his illusion and he clearly hear Naruto etc coming back to investigate the noise.

Running behind and grabbing Sakura, he flung her over his shoulder then performed a few hand seals. Sakura opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out as she and Itachi disappeared into a flock of crows. 

Just as the last crow flew away, Sasuke landed on the spot where Sakura and Itachi had just stood. Looking up, he caught a glimpse of the remaining crow, eyeing it suspiciously he could faintly hear Naruto calling him.

"something doesn't feel right here"

"HEY TEME COME LOOK AT THIS!"

Tearing his eyes away from the sky, the raven haired ninja ran back to Naruto and Karin

"what is it dobe?"

"look at this" he pointed towards a certain piece of the tree

"it's a shattered tree. So what?"

"look closer, it looks like someone punched it"

Sasuke took the wood in his hand; and he immediately got a surge of chakra from it, a very faint, but familiar chakra

'_Sakura….'_

He wouldn't dare say it aloud though, he knew how Karin felt about Sakura; and he wasn't in the mood for another argument over is ex-team mate.

"might've just been really old and caved in, no one else is here" he lied

Sasuke knew very well someone _had _been here, whether it _was_ Sakura or not.

"okay then, let's head home for now" Naruto agreed

"finally, Sasuke take me out tonight?" purred Karin batting her eyelashes

"_oh shut up_" he murmured 

"what?"

"sure"

Naruto scrunched his face up as she practically hooked herself on Sasuke's arm, he was close enough to Sasuke now to know when he didn't want Karin around, which was becoming more frequent these days

'_is it because of Sakura?'_ he thought

But he dismissed it as they began their journey back to Konoha.

Not that far away, but far enough, a flock of crows grouped together and took the shape of 2 figures. 

"_**never **_do that again" Sakura gasped falling to her knees

"why?" pondered the elder Uchiha

"it felt horrible, like my body was deteriorating"

"you'll have to get used to it if you decide to draw attention to us like that again"

"it was your fault!" she screamed "you had to say that"

"say what?"

"that she was pretty"

"why do you care if I said that?"

Sakura quietened "because that's all I ever heard when I was living in Konoha, 'oh she's so pretty' 'Sasuke's so lucky to have her' 'they look perfect together' I was sick of it, I had to get away from it all"

"so you ran away?"

"it was my only choice"

"you could've killed yourself, ended all the pain right away"

Again, Sakura's chakra began to darken "I wouldn't dream of giving that bitch the satisfaction of knowing that it was because of her"

She then laughed abruptly and Itachi raised an eyebrow at her

"I could only dream of wiping that smug look off her face and seeing fear in her eyes, that would really make my day"

"and why do you want that?"

"she ruined my life….now it's my turn to return the favour"

Neither of them spoke after that, setting up camp again, they had retreated to some thicker woods even further from Konoha.

Sakura stared aimlessly at the fire, lost in it's dancing embers

"why do you try so hard to impress my brother?"

Not really noticing that he was still there, she answered half heartedly 

"to prove I'm not worthless" she whispered as her body hit the ground

Itachi stared at her, Sasuke really had caused her a lot of psychological pain, yet she still wanted to show him what she could do

Overlooking her sleeping form, his "nice" side forced him to drape his cloak over her now shivering body. Staring up at the sky he sighed deeply

"I can barley see the sky anymore…"

**Chapter 2 is done, sorry if you thought it was a bit short **_**sweat drops **_**but I needed to get this one up so I can start on my homework, I also need to do work for my college interview which is in a few days. You should all hear from me soon though. Don't forget the reviews, I love hearing what you have to say about my stories. Till next time then x.x.x **


	3. Painful Dreams

**Well hi there, it's like nearly midnight and bored on Easter lol. I know the last chapter was a bit short, but oh well, that's as best as I could do at that precise moment, having a cold and a major headache an all. Well without further a due, here's the next chapter**

**Chapter 3: Painful Dreams**

Sakura awoke within the next few hours due to small droplets dripping onto her skin. Opening her eyes slowly, she took in her surroundings. She was still in the forest, it was still dark, the fire had died out and it was beginning to rain.

"Itachi...?" she called out as quietly as she could

She got no answer, only silence

As she stood up, she felt an item of clothing fall from her body, bending down and picking it up, she ran her thumb over the surprisingly soft material

'_Itachi's cloak? Did he give it to me? Where is he now? Great time to leave me alone, asshole!' _

Hearing a twig snap behind her, her body froze up and went stiff. Pulling the cloak back on, she slowly turned around to where the noise had come from. A huge sigh left her mouth as nothing appeared in front of her

"Whew, it was probably an animal" she muttered

But again, her breath hitched in her throat as she felt a presence behind her and a hot breath on her neck

"Indeed...but _what kind_ of animal is the real question here"

Turning around, Sakura was met with blood red eyes

"I...Itachi?"

"Nope, only me here _love_"

It was then she realised she was in real danger, they had found her. Konoha, **Sasuke**, they had _all_ found her when she didn't want to be found.

But then where was Itachi? Shouldn't he be here too? 

Unless...

Sakura's eyes widened in panic. Unless they had already killed him while she was asleep, and she hadn't even noticed.

Looking back at Sasuke and seeing the glint in his eyes, she turned and ran as fast as she could.

She could tell he was following her, and it only made her adrenaline pump more, ignoring all the scratches she got from passing through the trees, even as she stumbled a few times and gashed her legs on the rocks, she continued to run.

But even though she was going as fast as she could, it still wasn't enough. Her scream fell on deaf ears as Sasuke appeared in front of her and she ran straight into his chest, unable to slow down.

He immediately grabbed her and forced her to the ground where she struggled furiously. Kicking and punching at anything within her reach, Sakura was fighting for her life.

Eventually her writhing ceased and tears appeared at the rim of her eyes as she stared into the sharingan

"Why are you doing this?" she choked

"Because you belong to the leaf, not a murderer"

Sakura noticed his gaze darken as he spoke

"Did you come because you cared, or is this your mission?"

"It is my mission...to win your heart again" he whispered huskily into her ear

He smirked as he saw the goose bumps appear on her flesh

"What about...Karin?" she croaked

"She wasn't worth my time. You on the other hand..."

Sakura felt Sasuke shift his weight to the side of her as his hand trailed down her body, making random patterns

"No..."

"What?" he asked bewildered 

"I said no, this is wrong. We took different paths; we can't be with each other now. Because of what you chose, is why I'm here right now"

"You belong to me; and me _**only**_"

"No, get off!" she cried

Her eyes widened again as she witnessed him draw his katana from its sheath

"If **I **can't have you, **no one **can" he growled and swiped at her delicate skin

"STOP! Please stop" begged Sakura trying to crawl away

But her attempt was in vain as Sasuke grabbed her hair and yanked her back towards him, her screams not affecting him at all.

Sakura cried in pain as he stabbed her ruthlessly, in her stomach, arms, legs, face, chest, then with one final ear piercing scream, he drove the katana straight through her throat.

"Sakura wake up!" came a voice from somewhere

Said person shot up and was met with red eyes. Eyes widening she sped off in an instant, but only to stumble and fall with the numbness in her legs.

Looking up, she saw those same red eyes just above her. When he grabbed her arms, she struggled with all her might. But she stilled as she felt a hard impact across her cheek

She was in a daze for a while, before finally coming to her senses. 

Sakura looked around, noticing the man sitting on her stomach, a shirtless man in a matter of speaking, his hair was also loose and wet, said water dripping lightly onto her skin

"Itachi?"

"Yes?"

"What- what're you doing?"

"Stopping you from going crazy"

"Wha- what?"

"You were screaming in your sleep"

"My...sleep?"

The elder Uchiha nodded as he stood up, offering her a hand also, which she took gratefully.

Sakura rubbed her head and then felt her cheek where it was surprisingly warm and stinging

"You slapped me?" she glared

"It was the only way to get you to calm down"

Itachi paused and looked at her more closely

"What is it?" she asked becoming self conscious 

"You're bleeding"

"What? Where?"

"Here" he said wiping the side of her mouth with his thumb, revealing a small red smudge

Sakura mimicked his actions before holding a shaky chakra filled hand to her throat where she healed the bleeding

"Why are you bleeding?" he asked

Sakura knew why she was bleeding, but didn't dare think it was possible or that it was safe to tell Itachi.

"I don't know..."

She turned away from him and headed back to their camp. But as she was walking in front of him, Itachi's eyes landed on something beneath her shirt on her back. Her shirt there was soaked in blood and it didn't look like the bleeding was stopping anytime soon.

"Sakura?"

"hm?"

"What's on your back?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come here"

Sakura hesitantly nodded before re-tracing her steps back to Itachi's suspicious form

"Turn around"

She did as she was told, facing her back towards him

"Take your shirt off" he ordered

"What?" she stuttered glaring at him?

"Do it!"

Sakura winced at his voice and slowly slipped her vest top off, feeling a small pain as her shirt stuck to something and cried softly as she felt her skin rip

"And the fishnet shirt"

As Sakura began to take the second layer off, Itachi placed a hand on her shoulder telling her to stop. She did as she was told

"I have to cut it"

"What? Why?"

"Otherwise it'll just make it worse. Sit down; it'll be easier for you"

As Sakura sat down she felt the cool blade of the kunai against her back. Holding her breath as Itachi cut her mesh shirt away, scared he would do anything but that.

As he finally got the last piece of the shirt off from the bloodied skin, he drew out a flask of water and poured it over her back. Sakura hissed in pain and went to arch her back, but Itachi held her firmly in place

"It hurts..." she whimpered

"It has to be cleaned"

Sniffling, Sakura nodded and dug her nails into the ground, trying to focus on something other than the searing pain on her back

After a good 20 minutes, Itachi announced he was finished. Taking one last look at the blur of red lines on her back, he handed her his cloak as neither of them had any other clothes and sat down beside a log, and then relit the fire.

"Itachi...?" she mumbled staring at the fire

"hm?"

"Why are you helping me?"

"Your no good to me injured are you"

Sakura lowered her gaze even further "I guess not"

As she lay down, even closer to Itachi this time, she let him examine her back one more time before falling asleep, her head on his leg.

He sighed, since when did he tolerate contact from another being? Tracing his lean fingers over Sakura's wound on her back, his eyes squinted as the lines on her back seemed to form something. Looking even closer, he growled as the Uchiha clan symbol became clear.

"Foolish little brother..."

Just how the hell did Sasuke manage to scar her body from within her mind? He was determined to find out and was focused on protecting his petite medic from his sinister brother.

He needed her for his eyes, nothing else. Right? Or was there something else the elder Uchiha was hiding beneath his mask of emotionless.

Just what was happening right now? Figuring the base was the safest place to be right now, he carefully picked Sakura up in his arms bridal style, kicked out the fire and made his way towards the Akatsuki Base.

He needed answers; and he wanted them right now.

**That's the end of this chapter, hope it was a bit longer and a bit more filling lol, but I'm really stumped for ideas right now and so totally depressed over the weather and my headache**


	4. Getting Along

**Hi everyone, thank you to everyone for the positive reviews, I'm really glad you like it. Well my break is over and now my exams are beginning to start, art next Tuesday AND Friday, then German the next week and then all the other exams start the week after that, so I chose this moment to update for you since I might not for a while.**

**Chapter 4: Getting Along**

Green eyes fluttered open as a dim light danced across her pale face. Taking in her surroundings, she slowly sat up and arched her back, only to cry out in pain

Falling forward onto her knees, the pain flowing through her body caused her to throw up what she had eaten the previous night, which wasn't much but it all came up anyway.

She had stretched the wound on her back and had re-opened it, she could feel the warm red liquid trickling down her back and staining her clothes.

-

_She cried out in pain as the younger Uchiha slashed at her milky skin, then as she tried to crawl away, she felt him pull her up by the scruff of her neck and slammed her against a tree._

_Hissing in pain, she felt a slicing feeling across her back. Turning her head slightly, she could see Sasuke's dark gaze on her back, as if he were drawing doodles on her. Well this hurt more than any other doodle she had had drawn on her. Mind you, that was in pen, this felt a kunai and all she could do was hang onto the tree to hold up her limp, numbing body._

_-_

She could feel the tears prick at her eyes harshly, but she didn't care. Sakura hung her head and let them fall freely, not giving a damn about anything, she just needed to let everything out

"Why am I always the one who has to suffer with the pain...why do I always end up crying because of _**you**_?"

Sakura quietened her sobs as she heard footsteps coming towards her, but no matter how hard she tried; her tears failed to slow. Biting her lip, she attempted to silence her whimpering, but that only resulted in her body shaking violently.

-

Red eyes homed in on a practice dummy before it was ripped to shreds by shurikens. Taking a deep breath, Uchiha Itachi landed softly on the ground and sighed deeply. He could feel his eyesight deteriorating but he just refused to stop using his sharingan. Without it activated he felt weak and vulnerable.

Taking a deep breath, red finally returned to black, not wanting to go blind just yet. But as his ears picked up a scream, his eyes instantly screamed sharingan again. Jumping through the trees, he slowed as he heard cries and his medic's weak chakra signature. Slowly, he walked towards her.

-

As the footsteps halted just beside her, Sakura hugged her knees closer to her chest, trying to shield herself from him.

"Kunoichi"

She made no attempt to move or speak

"Kunoichi, get up"

This time, Sakura made a motion to speak, but found she couldn't find the right words to say

"Kunoichi, get up or I'll leave you behind"

Something that he said made Sakura snap from within and she snapped her head up to glare at him in the eye, her jade eyes filled with hate and hurt

"You would wouldn't you? You Uchiha's think only of yourselves. You wouldn't care about someone if they showed even the slightest hint of weakness! And-"

The elder Uchiha cut her off "do you want your back to become infected?"

This stopped Sakura's rant right there and then "huh? What?"

"Your back is bleeding again, I don't want an infected..._medic_ healing my eyes"

Sakura nodded but scoffed at herself, for a moment there she thought he was going to call her his 'companion' or something more appreciative than just 'medic'

'_I guess I was hoping for a little too much'_ she thought

Accepting the hand Itachi held out for her, she slowly pulled herself up, trying to move her back as little as possible.

Itachi then led her through a few metres of trees before coming to an opening, which revealed a beautiful fresh water lake.

Sakura stared out into the lake, completely mesmerized by its appearance. Only then did Itachi's smooth, silky voice bring her back to reality, and she didn't like it one bit

"Shirt off. _Now"_

"_WHAT?!"_

"You don't expect me to clean your wound with your shirt on do you?"

"I can do it myself"

"Your chakra's exhausted. You couldn't put even as much as a dent in the ground right now"

"Oh yeah..."

Sakura growled drawing back her fist and slamming it into the ground, which made a soft _'thud'._

A few moments passed before Sakura recoiled her hand and rubbed it.

"Told you"

Sakura glared at the Uchiha and turned away from him

"Now, take your shirt off"

A blush adorned her cheeks and she slid her shirt over her head and dropped it beside her on the floor. Instantly wrapping her arms around her torso, she turned **only **her head towards Itachi.

"Now what?"

"Sit on the small ledge in the water"

Sakura obeyed and walked over to the water and stepped in, shivering as the water covered her up to her lower back.

"It's cold" she whined

But her eyes widened her fraction as a small splash behind her, not to mention two legs that appeared either side of her, made her blush even more

The lake just got a hell of a lot warmer

Sakura couldn't believe this was happening to her. Here she was, sitting topless and helpless in a lake with Uchiha Itachi sitting right behind her, tending to her wound

She could feel him remove the dirty bandages from around her back and apply some sort of cream over her back. After he rubbed that in, she felt him pour some warmer water over the wound to finish cleaning it. Again he applied some cream to her back and stopped.

"That'll have to stay there a while, just to let the air to get to it"

Sakura nodded as Goosebumps appeared on her ski.

"Still cold?"

"A...little" she squeaked

A soft gasp left her mouth as Itachi pulled her back to his chest, warmth exploding throughout her, and just by the touch of his skin.

It then occurred to her, he **wasn't** wearing his shirt either and she gulped at the thought.

Sakura's blush reddened once again as Itachi rested his chin on her shoulder and closed his eyes. His hand tracing a symbol on her right thigh, making small ripples in the lake.

She then realised it was the Uchiha clan symbol he was drawing on her leg with his finger.

A cool wind passed by which made Sakura shiver once again. She felt Itachi shift as he wrapped his strong arms around her petite frame.

'_Is he trying to keep me warm?'_ she asked herself

Anyone who passed them, not that they would this deep in the forest but you never know, would probably mistake them for a couple enjoying the relaxing scenery.

But no, Sakura shook her head gently so nod to disturb Itachi; it was just a murderer healing his medic so she could heal him

'_Oh the irony'_ she sighed _'and I'm meant to be the one healing him'_

After what seemed like hours, Itachi finally let go of her body and stretched. Sakura opened her closed eyes and yawned, just how long had they been there like that?

Turning to Itachi, she noticed some of the cream and blood had become stuck to his skin, more precisely his chest.

Still covering her chest with one arm, she turned round and ended up sitting on his waist, surprising him completely.

She then dipped her hand into the water and began to rub away the dirt from his perfect skin. She began to feel all lightheaded and warm as the muscles beneath her hand flexed and shifted/

'_His body is __**so**__ perfect! Why do we have to be enemies...?'_

She blushed again as her hand traced the outlines of his muscles on his well toned chest.

'_But are we really enemies now? I've left my village and won't be welcome back there anymore; and I'm his medic now, could we be classed at partners...?'_

Her thoughts trailed elsewhere as her hand halted across his heart. She could feel it beating against her palm and it soothed her aching mind

"Like what you see kunoichi?"

Sakura's head shot up so fast she lost her balance on his waist and fell over backwards back into the water. As she came back up to the surface, she could see the smugness radiating off him, but there was something else there that she noticed. A very small, barely visible blush across his cheeks. She also recalled how his heartbeat had increased dramatically as she placed her hand over it.

"Enjoying yourself kunoichi?"

"...sorry"

Itachi offered her his hand once again as he pulled her from the water.

As she went to put her shirt back on, Itachi stopped her.

"Not so fast"

"What?" she blinked

"Bandages first"

She sighed and held her arms out, not caring about her modesty right now "fine"

"No complaints kunoichi?"

She shook her head

"Very well"

Itachi may have been a murderer, but he was still respectful of the female body and chose to bandage her from behind. But he made an extra effort to '_**accidentally' **_brush his hand against her breast, hoping for a reaction from her, but she gave no and it made him curious as to why.

Raising an eyebrow, he watched as she pulled her shirt back on and placed her hands on her hips.

"Let's go then"

"You're walking; you'll re-open your wound if you run"

Sakura pouted "but that'll take ages...where are we going anyway?"

"The base"

"How far is that?"

Itachi smirked "_**very**_ far"

Sakura groaned and hung her head

'_Perhaps this kunoichi is going to be more fun than I thought'_

* * *

**Well there we go, 4th chapter done. I actually wrote this one is school today lol silly me not paying attention in class when my exams are 3 weeks away, oops hehe .'**

**Anyways, you all know how much I love reviews so I'd appreciate it loads**

**See you all 'soon' in the next chapter**

**x.x.x**


	5. A Broken Promise

**Whoa I am so sorry guys for not updating in like...2 months, but exams have really got me tied, only 7 left now thank god hehe. Anyways, here's the chapter you've all been waiting for**

**Chapter 5: A Broken Promise**

"Naruto, we have to bring her back"

"you still care about her don't you?" the blonde smiled sadly

"of course I still bloody care about her! But you know how Karin gets when someone brings her up..."

There was silence amongst the two for a few minutes

"Sasuke?"

"hm?"

"what do _you_ want?"

The young Uchiha's mouth set in a grim line "I want her back"

Naruto nodded solemnly "we'll get her back"

Sasuke looked out the window to where a small, growing cherry blossom tree stood. He had planted it for her, keeping it a secret from Karin. Only Naruto knew other than him; and he knew he could trust him not to tell her.

"I need her Naruto; I can't live without her much longer"

"I know Sasuke, I know"

--

The pinkette looked up at the sky for the umpteenth time that day, hoping to see a rain cloud, but the sky was a clear blue and cloudless.

She wanted it to rain, she could cry when it rained because no one could tell she was crying; it just looked like the rain was dripping off her face.

Sakura wanted to cry, she was tired and her back wasn't doing her any favours, but she could tell it was healing every time Itachi renewed her bandages.

Speaking of the Uchiha, he wasn't helping right now either. Ever since that day in the lake, her mind kept producing images of him in the lake...naked. And she got hot and flustered each time and had to pinch her arm to make the flush go away.

"kunoichi, hurry up"

Sakura looked his way and sighed, how could she hurry up when he told her not to run?

'_men...'_ she groaned trying to speed up her pace

"why do you keep looking at the sky kunoichi?"

Sakura looked up at him "no reason"

He then appeared before her startling her "you're lying kunoichi"

"I do have a name you know"

"I'll call you by your name when your worthy of it, kunoichi"

Scowling, Sakura drew back her fist and slammed it into the ground, but only groaned as she made a small crack.

"so I see your chakra is returning slowly"

"if I could, I'd slam your face into the ground"

'_and then caress your perfect skin'_

Sakura stared in disbelief at what had just crossed her mind. She was so out of it, she didn't notice Itachi appear behind her and push her down onto the ground.

"is that a threat Sa-Ku-Ra?" he whispered into her ear

Sakura moaned as his voice sent shivers down her spine

"do you like hearing my voice?"

She could tell he was enjoying toying with her, and she wanted revenge. Gathering every bit of strength she had, she slipped out of his grasp and pushed him backwards. Sitting on his waist she leaned forward, noses only inches apart.

"why? Do you like mine?" she cooed licking her lips

'_I so shouldn't be doing this; he'll kill me for sure'_

But what happened next completely caught her off guard. Itachi pushed her back and slowly, just to torture her, licked from her collarbone up to her earlobe, where he gently bit down; causing her hands to push against his chest.

She felt it again; his heartbeat sped up as she touched him. Biting her lip she suppressed a moan as she felt his hands grab her small waist.

"do you like that kunoichi?" he breathed hotly into her ear

He could see the goose bumps appear on her skin and smirked as she shook her head.

"oh? But I think you do"

"touch me again and I won't heal your eyes"

Itachi glared at her, placing a kunai against her throat "then I'll kill you"

She smirked "go ahead"

Sighing, Itachi stood up and carried on walking, leaving Sakura laying there on the ground. Finally her grey skies had emerged and she smiled as she felt the little droplets hit her skin.

'_finally, I can cry...'_

--

Coal black eyes stared out into the rainy horizon, sighing deeply he closed his eyes

"I miss you Sakura"

He heard a shuffle from behind him and looked towards the bed, where a naked Karin lay half asleep.

"come back to bed baby, it's late"

Sasuke looked at the clock – 2:45am

It had been raining non-stop since yesterday afternoon, and he had this sinking feeling in his stomach that is _**she**_ was still alive, _**she**_ was crying with the clouds too.

Leaving the windowsill, he climbed back into bed but faced away from Karin, who at the time seemed too tired to care and fell back asleep.

Sasuke reached over and rubbed his left shoulder, the curse seal was still there but inactive.

But what he couldn't figure out was that if Orochimaru was dead, the seal hadn't disappeared?

Something wasn't right here, but he wasn't going to lose what was left of his sleep worrying about it.

--

"here"

Sakura nodded and took the small loaf of bread from Itachi's hand. A month had passed now and they still hadn't reached the base, there were...interruptions you might say, but Sakura described it as "stupid fucking annoying ninjas who had nothing better to do then disrupt people's sleep" and it was starting to get aggravating.

"when are we going to get there?"

"tomorrow night"

"finally"

"getting impatient kunoichi?"

"I started getting impatient a month ago"

She watched as he smirked at her before lying on the bed. Raising her hand, she allowed some of her chakra to flow into it before a green glow appeared.

"I see your chakra has returned" she heard him say from the bed

"seems like it"

'_I wonder why it took so long to return to her, could it be the scar on her back?'_ pondered Itachi

Sakura pushed chakra into her other hand and smiled as it too glowed a light green

"should I start on your eyes then?" she asked

"hn"

Itachi didn't say anything more as he placed his hands behind his head. Sakura stood up and sat beside him on the bed.

"you'll need to open your eyes"

Itachi did as requested and it only seemed to surprise her that his eyes were already a light grey

"you're nearly blind" she gasped

He nodded

"why didn't you say anything? I could've done something!"

"you would've killed yourself with almost depleted chakra"

"I DON'T CARE!" she yelled slamming her fist against the wall

It surprised Itachi it only made a small dent

"I don't care..." he heard her murmur and watched as she stood and walked into the bathroom

Sighing deeply, Itachi dragged himself from the bed and knocked on the door

"Sakura, come out now!"

There was no reply

"Sakura! Why don't you care?"

Slowly she opened the door again; he could see her puffy red eyes but didn't say anything. He knew she didn't want him to see her cry, she already failed that miserably.

"why don't you care?" he asked again but in a softer tone

"think about it Itachi, the only thing keeping me alive is my promise to you to heal your eyes. After that I'm no use to you so you'd dispose of me, you've already threatened to if I 'didn't' heal them. So it wouldn't matter if I healed your eyes and died...would it?"

She was now staring at him, her eyes never leaving his.

Itachi couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth; did she not value her life at all? Slowly, he chuckled.

"what's so funny?"

"kunoichi, you take me too seriously"

Sakura's jaw dropped "your Uchiha Itachi! Of course I'm going to take you seriously!"

Itachi moved forward trapping her between him and the bathroom.

"Sakura you've surpassed the greatest medic in the world, making you the best. Do you think I'd throw you away like that?"

Sakura was quiet, he still viewed her as just his medic, then again what else would he view her as?

But she drew a sharp breath as she was pushed roughly against the wall; she then felt a hot breath on her ear.

"you're too valuable to me, _**my**_ _**pet**_"

Blushing like a tomato, Sakura looked at the ground

"should I start healing now then?" she asked trying to distract herself from the close proximity of their bodies.

"only if you promise not to push yourself"

Sakura nodded but hesitated "Itachi...?"

"hm?"

"why do you are so much?"

"I really don't fancy being completely blind for the rest of my life"

"no, not that"

He looked at her "then what?"

"...me..."

Itachi stared at her, why did he care so much for her exactly? Was it because he knew no one else could heal his eyes? Was it because he wanted to make his little brother suffer even more by taking away the person he cherished the most? Or was it because deep down, he actually held some form of affection towards this girl?

Shaking his head, he decided it couldn't be the latter. No, definitely not.

Sighing, he finally said "I don't know" and turned away from her

Sakura smiled, he was confused about her, and in a way; that made her happy. Focussing on the current situation, she walked back over to the bed where Itachi was already waiting for her (_no not like that you dirty perverts tehe ;D_)

Sitting beside him again, she placed her fingertips either side of his head.

"Itachi, can you um..."

"what?"

"can you activate your sharingan? But not the Mankekyou just yet"

"why?"

"if I repair the sharingan first that'll give you that eyesight back, plus it'll make it easier to heal the second stage"

"you're not gonna push yourself are you?"

"no..." she whispered

Itachi breathed deeply and strained himself to turn the sharingan on. When he succeeded Sakura's eyes widened. His eyes were a faint red and the little coma's were already deteriorated.

"this is bad" she breathed pushing her healing chakra into him

She found it hard to heal him properly with his chakra pushing hers away

"Itachi stop resisting" she growled

After a few minutes, his chakra calmed and allowed hers to roam his head. After fixing a few nerves she felt a warm liquid flow onto her hands. Looking down she saw a red substance leaking from Itachi's eyes.

'_his eyes are bleeding...'_ she thought biting her lip _'I hope this works, I don't want you to be blind...my friend'_

"you can close your eyes now" she whispered softly

Itachi complied, slightly hesitant at the whimper of her voice, but nonetheless he closed his bleeding eyes.

After a few hours, he could feel his refreshed nerves and sighed in content at the warm chakra mingling with his own.

But his eyes cracked open as he felt little droplets on his pale face.

"Sakura, why are you crying?" he asked looking at her closed leaking eyes

Her voice was dry and croaky "I'm not..." her eyes opened

Looking closer, Itachi saw them dull to a faint green and the liquid leaking from her eyes wasn't tears, it was red. Crimson droplets falling onto his pale face. It was blood. Her blood.

It then pinged in Itachi's mind what was happening, sitting up he held her up to look at him, with no eyesight she looked disoriented and confused.

"you said you wouldn't push yourself"

"I...I lied" she rasped as she fell against his chest

--

Oooooh what's happening? Only I and a few of other people know and all shall be revealed shortly. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, took me ages to type up, I kept getting distracted lol.

Review if you want to, you know I love them :D

xoxox


	6. So Close

**All right guys, here's the next instalment of this story and I'm really happy, don't ask me why, it's 4:45 am, I'm knackered, watching ratatouille and listening to music lol but I just can't sleep so I'll do this.**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far and I'm so happy I'm getting such a positive response for this, I love you all**

**Chapter 6: So Close**

"_You said you wouldn't push yourself"_

"_I...I lied..."_

**--**

Itachi watched as the pink haired kunoichi closed her dull, bleeding eyes and fell against his chest.

Flinching at the touch, he stared at her. After what he had said abut not killing her, why did she still push herself to her limit?

Putting a finger to her throat, he waited for a pulse... He found it, slow and steady, she had just lost consciousness.

Placing another blanket over her, he allowed the girl to sleep on him; after all, she had given him his sharingan back.

But at what price?

--

"Kunoichi..."

Sakura's ears picked up the voice, but her body felt too heavy to move. The stunt she pulled with the healing nearly killed her. In fact, she was surprised it hadn't.

"Kunoichi..."

There it was again, that voice she kept hearing. Why was she still alive? She had little to no chakra left; theoretically she should be dead by now. What was keeping her alive? Fading in and out of consciousness, she passed out from the nausea that had developed in her stomach over time.

Itachi looked at the girl lying on his chest, he knew she was alive but couldn't seem to be able to regain consciousness completely. Sighing, he gently lifted her up and slipped out from beneath her.

Walking over to the window he stared out of it, gasping at the quality of his renewed eyesight, her healing was amazing. It was late afternoon by the colour, a deep red and orange, it was a warm night and slightly calming.

Turning back to Sakura, his eyes widened as he noticed the light from the sky shine down past him and onto her sleeping form. He remembered what she looked like as an 8 year old, when she followed Sasuke around from afar, he had seen her hide behind a tree every time he came to pick Sasuke up from the academy. Back then she was a timid, shy little girl, but now, as he looked at her with his new eyes, he could see she had developed into a strong, independent woman; Itachi could say she was even beautiful.

Looking at the sky once again, he sighed. It was nearly dark; and they'd have to move soon.

Moving over to the bed, he gently shook the pinkette. He was relieved she stirred under his touch, and moments later; her green eyes opened, slightly less dull than the night before.

Looking up, Sakura saw Itachi staring down at her

"What?" she asked stretching

Itachi sat on the bed "can you see me?"

Sakura rubbed her eyes before trying to focus on his face

"Slightly, you're a little blurry, but that's it"

"Will you be able to move in the dark?"

"Maybe. Why?"

"We're moving tonight"

Sakura sighed and nodded. She then stood, walked over to her boots, put them on then clicked them into place.

"How's your back?"

"Still healing" she replied pulling a dark cloak Itachi had brought her over her body

Whenever he mentioned her scar, she would get this 'tingly' feeling from her toes up to her shoulders. The same feeling returned every time he traced his fingers over the scar, which he had a habit of doing every time Sakura risked the chance and laid next to him.

Taking her hand, Itachi led her out of the little inn and they began their way through the dark forest.

--

"Ow!" moaned a voice for the 25th time that night as the person rubbed her ankle

"You can't see" stated Itachi

"Yes I can"

A minute later, Sakura was on the ground again, having tripped over another root.

"This is hopeless! I hate the woods!"

Suddenly she felt herself being lifted up, then the rush of wind against her face

"What-"

"We'll never get there in time if you continue to trip over every 10 seconds"

"It's not like it's my fault"

"Actually, it is"

Sakura growled; he was right. So she shut up and buried her face into his cloak.

A few hours passed and Sakura was comfortably lodged against Itachi's chest. Breathing deeply, she inhaled his scent, he smelt...nice? He smelt spicy in Sakura's opinion; and she giggled against him.

But she was brought out of her thoughts as she felt Itachi's movements cease.

"What's hap-"

But a hand was clamped across her mouth as she felt a hot breath in her ear.

"Ssssh, we're not alone"

Sakura nodded _'an ambush?'_

"Can you see yet?"

Sakura looked around her, then shook her head glumly

"Shit"

Suddenly her stomach lurched as she felt her body drop

"Stay here okay"

Sakura had no choice but to trust him at this point "okay"

Then she felt his chakra leave her. Feeling around her body, she realised he had hidden her in a tree trunk. The sound of clashing metal echoed all around her, making her flinch violently and pull her knees up to her chest.

"Maybe I shouldn't have overdone the healing..."

Mentally slapping herself she shook her head "no, now that Itachi had full use of the sharingan, he'll be able to beat these guys in no time, then he'll come back for me...but what if the sharingan isn't enough?"

Sakura was cut short as she heard a rustle, but she knew it wasn't Itachi. If it was Itachi, she wouldn't have heard him. Taking her chances she threw a kunai in the direction of the noise.

**THUD**

She smirked, she had hit her target. Staying well hidden among the bushes, Sakura crawled on her stomach over to the body.

Well for one thing, he didn't have black hair; and he was a lot shorter than Itachi.

Then she heard it "Mankek-"

Without thinking, she stood from her hiding place and yelled "don't use the Mankekyou!"

Using what was left of her chakra, she forced it into her eyes so she could better, only to see a kunai coming straight at her.

"Shit..."

With her reckless side getting the better of her, she held out her hand and caught the kunai between her knuckles, slicing the skin. Without flinching and attaching an exploding tag to the kunai, she swirled round and flung it back at its owner, which hit perfectly in the chest. Then the explosion happened.

"He is so not waking up tomorrow" she laughed

"Sakura move!" came Itachi's voice

Performing a perfect back flip, Sakura dodged the heavy amount of shuriken that landed just before her feet.

"Itachi!" How many are there!" she called

She felt his chakra beside her "I don't know, they just keep coming"

"Then let's kick their ass!"

Itachi stared at her, she was fully prepared for a full out battle, even in her state.

'_You really are something, Sakura Haruno'_

Jumping in sync, you would think with the way they were moving that they had rehearsed their movements. But in reality, Sakura was just straining to follow Itachi's chakra movements. But soon she began to falter, her eyesight drowning in darkness once more.

"Itachi you're moving too fast, I can't see you!" she yelled slowing to a stop

Itachi looked back at her; he could see the blood trailing from her eyes. He also saw another nin heading straight for her. Throwing a kunai at him with amazing high speed he called out to her

"Sakura keep moving!"

Just as she was about to move her legs, a raw pain seared throughout her whole body.

Her scream echoed through the forest as she fell to her knees in pain, her hands trying to reach her back. Itachi noticed the blood soaking through her shirt and his eyes narrowed

'_Why is it bleeding again? It should've healed over by now...'_

A few more seconds passed and Sakura feel to the ground, motionless. Desperately trying to dodge all the weapons flying at him, Itachi tried to make his way through to Sakura.

But before he could get any closer to her, one of the enemy nin jumped down and grabbed her.

"Sorry mate, you'll have to get in line, you're not the only one who wants her"

Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke

"Fuck..." he growled

Slamming his fist against the tree he was leaning on, he let out a long sigh

"I couldn't protect her, what's wrong with me?"

Looking in the direction of the wind, he smiled "but I will get you back"

His figure then slowly began to fade as he walked deeper into the forest.

--

"SASUKE!" yelled the blonde diving through his friend's door

"What?" asked the raven haired man groggily

"They found her! Someone's found her!"

Sasuke eyes widened a fraction "are you-"

"Who have they found Sasuke?" came a female voice

Sasuke and Naruto looked behind him into the apartment.

**Karin.**

Naruto quickly thinking up an excuse blurted out "my sister, I've found my sister!"

Karin raised an eyebrow "you don't have a sister"

"Oh really? My mistake then. Come on Sasuke" he stuttered pulling Sasuke out the door, Karin yelling after them

"Sasuke, you said you'd take me shopping today"

"No I didn't"

Naruto tugged on his sleeve "c'mon, we gotta go"

Karin's mind did a double flip "it's _**her**_ isn't it? You're going to save _**her**_ aren't you?"

"Karin not now"

"NO! Why do you always pick _**her**_ over me? All you ever do is think about _**her**_. I know you do..." she screeched

'_If only Sakura could hear this...'_ thought Naruto

Sasuke then turned away and walked towards the Hokage tower, Naruto tailing.

"Don't you dare walk away from me!"

Sasuke shot her a menacing glare, sharingan activated. That shut her up.

"We'll talk later"

With that Karin ran back into her apartment crying

"Was the sharingan really necessary?" asked Naruto

"It was if we wanted her to shut up"

Naruto smirked

"What?" asked Sasuke

"Race you there"

"Oh, you're on"

"Last one there's a rotten ninja!"

Which usually ended up being Naruto, today was no different.

"Okay, so fill me in" stated Sasuke sitting down

"Some bounty nin contacted us, saying they caught Sakura"

"Where?"

"Near the rice country"

"But that's...that's by Sound...was she with anyone?"

Naruto's face darkened

"What?"

"They mentioned she was with a man with dark hair, red eyes and a cloak. Otherwise known as-"

"Uchiha Itachi" Sasuke snarled

Naruto nodded

"Sasuke understand this. This is an A Rank Solo Retrieval Mission, close to an S Rank with Itachi around"

"Solo?"

"Because of my duty as Hokage, I can't leave the village with you"

"...I understand"

"Here" Naruto handed him a scroll and a bag of what felt like money

"What's this?"

"That scroll states that **you** are the one to collect Sakura, no one else"

"And the money?"

"They **are** bounty nin"

Sasuke nodded "when do I leave?"

"5:00 tomorrow morning"

"Got it"

"And Sasuke?"

He turned back to the Hokage "hn?"

"Be careful"

Sasuke smirked, then waved his hand before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"I'm coming for you Sakura, just hold on"

--

Sakura grunted as a bright light shone down on her face. Squinting she looked around

'_Great I'm still blind' _she sighed

"Glad to see your awake kunoichi"

Sakura looked to where the voice had come from

"Who are you?"

"The name's Ryuk, I'm a bounty hunter"

"A bounty nin? Then why am I here?"

"You've got quite the big bounty on your head missy"

She could tell he was basically next to her now

"And I'm going to collect it"

"Who issued the bounty?"

"Konohagakure. Heard of it?"

"Unfortunately" she mumbled

"Well one of their nin is on his way here right now"

"Great..."

**...Itachi...**

"What happened to the man I was with?"

"After I grabbed you he didn't follow, probably thought you were dead after you fell to the ground. Why were you hanging out with Akatsuki anyways?"

"None of your business" she snapped

"Oh ho, quite the attitude you've got there"

Sakura scoffed

"And skill, you caught the kunai I threw at you and flung it back, even with an injured hand"

Sakura could feel him touch the knuckled the kunai had sliced and winced

"What do you mean **you** threw it? If it was you, you would've blown up"

"Substitution"

"But that would've disappeared after the kunai hit"

"Oh you hit the real me with the kunai alright" he chuckled touching his chest where the bandaged wound was "quite a deadly aim you got, even when you can't see"

"Whatever"

"So..."

He was sitting next to her

"Why did you faint?"

Sakura closed her eyes

"Your blind I know, but it looked like you were reaching for your back"

"It's nothing"

"You were screaming and your back was bleeding"

Sakura looked at him sharply "have you touched my back?"

"So your back **was **the problem"

"ANSWER ME!!"

Taken back by her sudden yell, Ryuk raised an eyebrow "no. No I haven't"

"Good"

"But you should probably let me look at it"

"No, I'm a medic, I can handle it"

"With no chakra? I'm sure. Now hold still"

Sakura obeyed reluctantly, well not that she had a choice in the matter, her wrists were chained to the pole behind her.

Tearing away her cloak, Sakura fumed "I liked that cloak!"

"I'm sure Konoha will buy you a new one"

She scoffed

She then felt her shirt being lifted over her head to rest on her upper arms

"Couldn't you of done that with the cloak?"

"It would've gotten in the way"

Sakura sighed

Feeling him unravel her bandaged to just below her shoulder blades, she gasped as cold water hit her back, rinsing off the dry blood.

"That symbol, it's..."

**-Knock-Knock-Knock-**

Placing Sakura's shirt back down, he turned and answered the door just as Sakura hid behind the pole. Peering out she gasped at the blurry sight

**Red** eyes...

**--**

**Well that's the end; I've had no sleep tonight and have to go to my job very soon. Hope you all liked it, and the more reviews I get, the more motivation I have tehe so review, review, review ******** xoxox**


	7. Gutted

**Hey there, I haven't updated in a while and I think you all deserve one, so here we go**

**Chapter 7: Gutted**

"_That symbol, it's..."_

_**-Knock-Knock-Knock-**_

_Placing Sakura's shirt back down, he turned and answered the door just as Sakura hid behind the pole. Peering out, she gasped at the blurry sight_

_**Red**__ eyes..._

Quickly hiding behind the pole she was tied to, Sakura held her breath. She evened her harsh breathing and listened to the conversation between the other men.

"So you're the one who's been sent to retrieve her?"

"Hn"

'_Well that doesn't bloody help. That's a common Uchiha reply. It could still be either of them. So on the safe side; I need to get out of here..._'

Sakura reached into her and pulled out a small blade from beneath her plain black hiate.

Two weeks into travelling with Itachi, he had forced her to abandon her leaf headband and had given her a plain one. He said it would be easier for them to travel that way, less people would recognise she was from Konoha.

Pushing a small amount of chakra into the blade, she slowly began to chip away at the chains around her hands.

"Very well, she's over here"

'_Shit, this is taking too long_' she began to cut faster

"She has a scar on her back that looks pretty bad; you may want to have a look at it"

"Hn"

They were getting closer...

The chain was almost broken...

Only a few feet away now...

A few slices left...

"Where is she?"

"What?"

"She's not here. What sort of game are you playing at?" snarled Sasuke

"I'm not, she was here a minute ago...look, she's cut her way out" said Ryuk holding up the broken chain and studying it

Sasuke turned away and began to walk towards the door.

"Don't worry, she won't get far, she's blind"

Sasuke stopped; eyes wide '_Why the hell is she blind? Just what did you do to her Itachi?_'

--

"Phew, that was close"

Sakura sighed deeply and rubbed her sore wrists

Her body was fully exhausted now, and being blind did not help one bit

"How long did you think you could outrun me, _Sakura_?"

Her eyes widened as she dared to look up

Sasuke was surprised how fast she moved. He was sure her chakra was at its minimum, yet she was still able to manoeuvre so quickly.

But the real problem was that because she had so little chakra, it would make it harder to sense her movements.

But he was determined not to let her go...not again.

Closing his eyes, he let the wind blow around him, everything was so serene.

_**-SNAP-**_

'_That way!_'

--

Sakura hid behind a tree, cursing in her head. She heard the twig snap beneath her foot and was sure her heart had jumped out of her mouth then back in.

She could feel his chakra closing in on her now. Grabbing a few kunai and placing them between her knuckles, she readied them by her chest, ready to throw.

_**-THUMP-**_

This was it, time for her escape. Flinging her arm round, she was about to let go of the kunai's, but was stopped as a hand grabbed hold of her wrist.

Looking up at the enemy, her gaze dropped almost immediately and the kunai's fell from her grasp, implanting themselves in the ground.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here to bring you home"

"What if I don't want to go home?"

"You really don't have a choice in the matter"

She scoffed

"So, why are you blind?"

"None of your business"

Sakura felt Sasuke's grip on her loosen

"Did _**he **_do this to you?"

"And what if he did?"

"Then I'll kill him"

Sakura's gaze darkened

"And what makes you think I'll let you kill him?"

Sasuke was taken back "you're defending him?"

"Maybe I am; I'm allowed t do what I want"

"Sakura...why?"

"Well for one thing, he sees me as more of an equal than you ever did"

Okay that was a lie, but she had to say something to him

"Sakura, I never wanted you to get hurt"

"So you refuse my love and break my heart, then knock me out and leave me on a bench. That's not hurting me?" she howled

"I didn't want you to follow me, I-"

"And I know you purposely scarred my back, but I want to know why"

"I knew it would slow you down, it would give me a better chance of finding you and-"

"Save it Sasuke, I'm not going back to Konoha"

"I'm not giving you a choice Sakura"

She then fell limp in his arms

"Oh she is going to kill me for doing that again" he sighed as he began his way back to Konoha.

--

_**-KNOCK-KNOCK-**_

"I'm coming, I'm coming" yawned Ryuk as he opened the door slowly

"Where is she?" asked a voice

"She? She who?"

"The pink haired kunoichi"

"On her way back to Konoha" he then looked closer at the man outside the door "hey, weren't you the one who picked her up?"

"Goodbye"

Then he vanished

"So my brother was sent to pick her up. This'll put me way behind schedule but I suppose I should way, it'll be better once her eyes are healed, then we'll continue as planned"

--

Sakura awoke in a panic as a bright light shone down onto her face

"Where am I?" she groaned

"Sakura" came a male's voice "your back in Konoha"

She moved her arms and legs

"Chained again, Naruto?"

"Sorry Sakura, we just can't lose you again"

"You lost me the day I ran away"

"And we're going to fix that" came another voice

"How nice, the whole of Team 7 back together again" sighed Sakura "shame it isn't going to last long..."

She felt Naruto move closer to her

"Sakura, what's happened to you?"

"I've changed"

"WELL CHANGE BACK!"

Both Naruto and Sakura looked towards Sasuke

Sakura's eyes narrowed as much as they could in their blind state "why should I?"

"Because this isn't you Sakura! You were nice, caring and happy"

"I AM happy"

"Stop lying to yourself, your better of here"

"How do you know what's better for me? You **never cared **about me"

Sasuke's eye widened at those words...those same words he had heard not too long ago.

_**-X-Flashback-X-**_

"_**I'm back" Sasuke called out shutting his apartment door**_

_**He received no reply so he walked into the kitchen and found Karin cooking**_

"_**Hi" he said**_

_**She nodded to show she had heard him and he sat down at the table. A few minutes later, food was on the table.**_

_**They ate in silence, until Karin broke it.**_

"_**When are you leaving?"**_

"_**Tomorrow morning"**_

_**She nodded again**_

"_**Are you going alone?"**_

"_**Yes"**_

_**Silence reined over the two for a few moments**_

"_**What are you going-"**_

"_**Why do you always go on?"**_

"_**Because I love you Sasuke, I want to know what's happening"**_

_**Sasuke turned away**_

"_**Sasuke! Why won't you ever acknowledge me? I'm 10 times better than that wench"**_

"_**SHUT UP!"**_

_**Karin looked surprised as Sasuke glared at her from across the table**_

"_**Don't...don't ever call her that"**_

"_**I don't see why not, it's the truth-ah!"**_

_**Karin gasped as she was suddenly thrown against the wall. She grasped at the hand that was currently around her throat and stared down at Sasuke's blood red eyes**_

"_**You are nothing compared to her!"**_

"_**You never cared about me, did you?"**_

_**He then dropped her walked away as she slumped to the ground, desperately drawing in breath**_

"_**Sasuke..." she reached out for him, tears at her eyes "please don't leave me"**_

_**He stopped at the door and waited a minute**_

"_**Goodbye Karin"**_

_**Then he was out the door and gone, just like that.**_

_**-X-End Flashback-X-**_

Sasuke looked down at the pink haired girl and felt his emotions rise

"Sakura...I've loved you all along"

What surprised him was that Sakura didn't even seem to flinch at his words

"Sasuke?"

"Hm?" he looked up at her

"Let me the fuck out of here!"

'_She didn't care? Who are you Sakura?_' Naruto asked himself

Sasuke slammed his fist next to her head and leaned in to her face

"I don't like what you've become Sakura. Now, you're going to reconsider and rejoin Konoha or I'm going to force you to"

"Eat shit"

She then head butted him with as much force as she could manage.

Sasuke fell backwards and grabbed his head in pain.

"You're not doing yourself any favours here Sakura" came Naruto's calm voice

"I shouldn't have to, I'm not staying here"

"but-"

"I don't even wear my hiate anymore, I'm a missing nin, so fucking treat me like one!"

Naruto stared at her "why are you almost blind?"

Sakura smirked "because I healed Itachi's eyes" making sure Sasuke heard her

He did and he was on her in an instant

"Why? Why would you do that? When he was so vulnerable"

"He took care of me when I needed it, which includes that damn scar you gave me on my back"

"Scar? What scar?" asked Naruto

"Go on Sasuke, show him the scar. Show him what you did to me _**in my dreams**_"

Naruto's breath hitched in his throat "where...where is it?"

Sakura looked at Sasuke waiting for him to answer, but when he didn't she said "on my back, between my shoulder blades"

He moved forward "show me"

For the first time being there, Sakura complied with the Hokage's wishes. Turning around, she allowed Naruto to lift up the back of her shirt, undo the bandages. She heard him gasp and knew Sasuke was in trouble.

"The Uchiha clan symbol..." he murmured then turned to Sasuke "we need to talk"

Sasuke followed Naruto out the door and towards the tower

--

Sakura sighed and closed her eyes, relishing in the silence

"You're not much are you?"

'_Well that didn't last long did it?_' she groaned in her head and turned around

'_Oh my day just keeps getting better..._'

"What do you want?"

"You're blind as well? Pathetic"

"Temporarily blind than you **very** much"

"What'd you do, poke yourself in the eye?"

"As fun as that sounds, no I didn't. I healed Itachi's eyes"

"What? But you know how Sasuke feels about him"

"Like I care. Karin"

"You know who I am?"

"Unfortunately, I could never forget your annoying voice"

"Why you-" she grabbed the collar of Sakura's shirt and shook her "I could kill you right now you know"

Sakura laughed

"What's so funny?"

She continued to laugh

"What's so damn funny?" repeated Karin

"If you kill me..." she paused and took a breath before looking directly at Karin "then Itachi will hunt you down and slaughter you"

She heard her gulp "why would he do that?"

"Because I'm the only medic who can heal his eyes, and he knows it"

"You're lying"

"Do you really want to risk it?"

Sakura felt Karin shift uncomfortably

"What makes you so much better than me?"

"To be honest, I don't give a shit. I don't even want to be here"

"But, what about Sasuke?"

"You can have him, I'm not particularly bothered"

'_**Only because you have the older, sexier brother**_' Sakura shushed her Inner

She suddenly felt Karin's chakra lighten "if I let you out, will you leave?"

"Gladly, but I need to heal my eyes first"

"How long will you need?"

"Five days"

"Okay, I'll be back in five days, at midnight"

Sakura nodded '_but can I really trust her?_'

--

"Sasuke..." Naruto began sitting down "why did you do that?"

"I knew it would slow her down and restrict her fighting techniques"

"But Sasuke, that wound is severe. When did you do that?"

"About a month ago"

"And it still hasn't healed over?"

"I suspect it has multiple times, but knowing her, she refuses to listen to reason and has probably been in battle a few times"

"So why hasn't she been able to heal her eyes?"

"That scar drained all of her chakra when I put it there. Her chakra probably returned to her over the month, but then she healed Itachi's eyes, draining it all again"

"So she'll be able to build up some chakra soon?"

"I'd say about 5 days, but we should take precautions with her strength, regardless of what state she's in"

"And what precautions do you suggest we take Sasuke?" asked Naruto, even though he already knew what he was going to say

"Put her with me. I can handle her"

"Are you sure? She seems to hate you right about now"

"What's new these days?"

"And that's a very nice bruise forming on your forehead" he chuckled

Sasuke touched his forehead and winced in pain

"She caught me off guard"

"Sure"

Sasuke scoffed "I'll give you one in a minute if you're not careful"

"Easy, I'm only playing. So was that true what you said, about loving her all along?"

Sasuke nodded

"Then why didn't you tell her before, we probably wouldn't be in this situation right now if you did"

"I didn't want her to follow me, she was always distracting me. If I told her she'd become distracted and focus less on being a ninja"

"So you gave her the cold shoulder?"

"It worked didn't it?"

"I suppose it did, until you came home with Karin"

"I thought I could forget about her, turns out I was wrong. Karin's even more annoying than Sakura was when she was 12" she sighed

Naruto laughed lightly before saying "so have you split?"

"Not yet, but I'm planning to...soon"

"What if it doesn't work out with Sakura?"

"I'll make it work"

"You hurt her again and I swear I'll pummel you a hundred feet under!"

"I never wanted to hurt her; I just wanted her back, like the old days"

Naruto placed a hand on his best friends shoulder "it will be"

Sasuke nodded and stood up

"Oh Sasuke?" called Naruto

"Yeah?"

"How did you do **that** to her anyway?"

Sasuke frowned "something Orochimaru taught me, I swore I'd never use it...but I was desperate"

Then he gently closed the door and the room fell silent.

Sitting himself back down in his chair, Naruto stared at the picture of himself, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi when Team 7 first formed. His face saddened

"We all want the old you back Sakura..."

--

Karin had left a few hours ago, hers and Sakura's plan completed. Now they just had to wait it out.

In the meantime, Sakura just wanted to catch up on some much needed rest.

"Sakura?"

'_So much for rest ever happening_'

"Do you want me to heal or not?"

"Yes"

"Then I need to rest" she said closing her eyes

"You won't get much rest in here, we're moving you"

"To where?"

"My house"

"NO"

"What?"

"I'm not going with you, I'd rather stay here"

"You'll never heal properly in here"

Sakura sighed "you're only moving me in with you because I can't hurt you in my present...condition, aren't you?"

"Mostly, but I think it's time you and I have a little catch up"

"Oh fun" she groaned

She felt Sasuke unclick her wrists and feet. She could escape right now, but what was the point? He would only catch her again because of her lack of sight and chakra. So Sakura remained completely still.

"Not going to run then?" asked Sasuke

She shrugged "can't be bothered"

Sasuke smiled and Sakura gawped. Could she feel 'happiness' radiating off the Uchiha? Surely her lack of eyesight was affecting her brain. She was sure she would go loopy before Sasuke was happy.

She then felt him place something warm and light around her wrist

"What's this?" she asked pulling at it gently

"A chakra bracelet. While you're wearing that, I'll know exactly where you are and..." he gave it a slight tug "we're connected"

"Oh you just made my day"

"But there is one thing you'll like"

"And what's that?" she enquired

"I can allow you to use my chakra to speed up your healing"

'_Now there's a thing that'll come in handy_' she thought

"Fine"

"Good. Come on then"

He gave a tug on the string and she walked forward, but she flinched as he took her hand in his.

"Sakura..."

"Hm?"

"...I'm sorry"

"For what?"

"Hurting you"

Sakura looked at him "why did you do it?"

He stopped walking, causing Sakura to bump into him. She looked at his face awaiting an answer.

"I needed you back in my life"

Sakura felt her heart lurch forward, but she managed to hold her calm composure.

She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could answer, she was jerked forward as Sasuke began walking again.

'_I doubt Karin will like this_' they both thought at the same time

**--**

**Wow, that was a long chapter. But I finally managed to get it up, hope you all like it.**

**See you in the next chapter, when I get round to writing it /sweatdrops\**

**x.x.x**


	8. Indecisive

**Well hello, I feel like I owe you all an update from at least one of my stories. Truth is, I've caught up on all my recent stories which means I have no complete new written chapters yet (except for this one) so I have to get cracking on those soon. Updates may vary from me from now on, seeing as I start college very soon (within the next two weeks) which will probably limit my time for stories, but I will most definitely NOT forget about them!!**

**Thank you to all those who have reviewed, favourite or alerted; I love you all so much.**

**Chapter 8:****Indecisive **

"What the hell are you doing here?!" screeched a female

"I'm not exactly pleased about being here either"

"Then Sasuke...why-?"

"The only reason I agreed to come here is because this stupid chakra bracelet let's me regain my chakra quicker" explained Sakura holding up her wrist

"So you heal quicker?" asked Karin

Sakura nodded.

"Karin pack your things, you're moving out" said Sasuke suddenly

Both girls gawped at him.

"But...but Sasuke-"

But Sakura was already there in her defence.

"There is no way in hell I'm staying here with you by myself. Karin stays!"

Sasuke glared at her, but she remained unfazed.

"Do you want me to head butt you again?" she smirked

There was silence for a while before he sighed "fine"

Karin stared at Sakura as she had just ordered Sasuke to let her stay.

'_I suppose I should be grateful, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have a home right now..._' she thought twiddling her thumbs

"Thank you" she mumbled

Sakura turned to her and nodded, then redirected her attention back to Sasuke

"Please tell me you can lengthen this string? I really don't fancy you being with me when I shower"

Sasuke nodded and felt Sakura's mood lighten as the string got longer.

"So can I have a shower? I haven't had one in _ages?_"

"Karin show her the bathroom"

"Hai" she stuttered as she led Sakura down the hall to the bathroom

As Karin turned the water knobs in the shower she heard Sakura say:

"So I take it you and Sasuke aren't so steady anymore?"

"Are you going to rub it in my face?"

Sakura shook her head "I just want to know why"

Karin sighed "It all started a few weeks after you left"

"Because of me?"

"I guess he became more interested in you after you, let's say dropped out of his fan club"

"But why?"

"I'm not sure myself"

She watched as Sakura punch the wall beside her, making a small crack; and that was without any chakra.

"Dammit! I stopped wanting his attention the day I left, and what do I get? His attention" she growled

"Is that why you really left?"

"Well, part of it" she mumbled

"What's the other part?"

"I wanted to become stronger, so Sasuke would just **acknowledge **me as an equal"

"So you did want his attention?"

"Well I guess, but not in the way I used to. I'd admired him for so long, I just wanted him to see me for who I really am" she paused and took a breath "And the only way to do that was to leave and become stronger by myself"

"And what about Itachi?"

"What about him?"

"Did you really heal his eyes?"

"To an extent, yes"

"To an extent? Why not completely?"

"I ran out of chakra and became temporarily blind"

"But I heard you have extreme amounts of chakra, plus your medic skills surpassed Lady Tsunade"

"Yes my skills surpassed hers, but Sasuke managed to place a scar on me in my sleep which limited my chakra usage"

Karin's eyes widened "In your sleep? You mean in a dream?"

"Yeah, why?"

"...May I see it?"

"Um, okay"

Turning around, Sakura removed her shirt and slowly unravelled the bandages letting them drop to the floor, to reveal the sore looking Uchiha clan scar.

"That's...that's a forbidden technique. I can't believe he used it" stammered Karin

Grabbing a towel and placing it around her chest, Sakura turned to face Karin again.

"**Why** is it forbidden?"

"Orochimaru taught it to Sasuke one day when we were still in Sound. I'd never seen Sasuke so scared, and I didn't see Orochimaru for a while. Finally, Sasuke told me why"

Sakura clenched her fists in anticipation.

"It can kill the user...and the target"

Those words cut through the air like a knife.

"He...could've killed me?"

Karin nodded "Obviously there was no way he was going to let you die-"

"I thought he was going to, before I woke up"

"That's the side effect of using this particular tracking technique, the user can become...unstable"

"So it wasn't really his fault what he did to me?"

"No. Sasuke was in bed for a week and he never told me why, but now it's so clear"

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"He almost died making sure he wouldn't kill you, he used all his chakra making sure you would live through it"

"Why...why would he do that for me?"

"He loves you"

Sakura looked at Karin in shock "What?"

"He doesn't love me; he never has and probably never will. It's always been you Sakura"

"But I don't want it to be me anymore..."

"Don't worry; I'll make sure you don't fall for him again"

Sakura smirked "Thanks. And could you do me a favour?"

"Depends what"

"Make sure Sasuke doesn't come in here"

Karin smiled "Sure"

As she left, Sakura stepped onto the shower and closed her eyes as the warm water beat down on her tense body, slowly relaxing it.

'_Karin's the reason I left, but now it's like we're almost friends. Do I really need to leave again?_'

She let out a long sigh and let her head hit the shower door.

"I need to get my feelings straight"

**--**

_**Pink hair swayed in the wind as a girl sat atop a cliff.**_

"_**You're feelings have changed"**_

_**The girl sighed.**_

"_**You've given in Sakura"**_

"_**Not completely, I'm still not comfortable with the idea of being around Sasuke again"**_

"_**But you're not against staying as much as you originally were, are you?"**_

_**There was a bleak silence.**_

"_**I guess not Itachi..."**_

"_**I thought you were stronger than this Sakura"**_

"_**What's that supposed to mean?"**_

"_**I thought you'd be able to resist Konoha, but you've succumbed, you're giving Sasuke what he wants. All that pain you went through was for nothing in the end"**_

"_**I gave you your eyesight back didn't I?"**_

"_**That's beside the point Sakura-"**_

"_**No it's not!" she yelled standing up "That's exactly it! That's all you want from me, you just want your precious eyesight back completely"**_

"_**No Sakura, what I want is exactly the same as what you want"**_

"_**And what's that"**_

"_**...Freedom"**_

_**Jade eyes widened as a wind swirled around them. She stared at Itachi as she thought over what had just come out of his mouth. It was then she realised something... he was right. She did want to be free. Free from all her worries and fears, she wanted to be her own person, she wanted... to be with him...Itachi.**_

"_**Train me and take me with you" she mumbled**_

_**He raised an eyebrow at her "What?"**_

"_**I said train me, I want you to take me with you when I'm healed. For now teach me to resist, to strengthen my will. It's not like I've got anything else to do for a few days"**_

_**Itachi pondered over her words, wondering if he should proceed in bringing her back to the base. **_

_**Finally he seemed to make up his mind.**_

_**The seconds that passed by seemed like minutes which felt more like hours to Sakura. She bit her lip in anticipation, awaiting Itachi's answer.**_

_**Finally she saw him look at her and his mouth open.**_

"_**As you wish"**_

_**Sakura's smile faded as the ground beneath her began to shake and crumble. As she felt the ground give way beneath her, she reached for the edge but that too began to crumble.**_

_**As Sakura fell towards the nothingness, her eyes became hazed and she thought over the situation.**_

'_**Can I really do this? Do I have what it takes?'**_

_**Still she continued to fall downwards, yet she made no attempt to stop herself, doubting her strength to live through her decision.**_

"_**You have the strength to do whatever you want"**_

_**Itachi's words echoed around her and she finally came to her senses.**_

_**Opening her eyes fully, she drew a kunai and flung herself towards the Cliffside digging the weapon deeps into the rock as it slowed her descent.**_

_**As she reached the bottom of the cliff she looked at the floor, there was water beneath her. Lots of water.**_

_**Gathering chakra into her feet, Sakura stepped down onto the water's surface and watched as it rippled around her toes.**_

_**Hesitantly, she took a few steps forward, but then stopped again.**_

"_**You're scared of the water aren't you?"**_

_**Sakura nodded.**_

"_**Why?"**_

"_**I've always disliked the fact that you can't catch it, that it can suffocate you within a few minutes. Physical attacks have always been my speciality, but you can't punch water... It's always been my downfall element" she explained pooling some water in her hands, and then watched as it slipped between her fingers**_

"_**Unfortunately, I cannot aid you in overcoming that fear right now. However, when we reach the base there is someone who can"**_

"_**Okay..."**_

"_**So far tonight, you'll just have to deal with it" he smirked**_

_**She pouted "That hardly seems fair"**_

"_**I don't see why"**_

"_**You know how to deal with water, your partner uses it. But I was on a team with fire and wind; I'm at a complete disadvantage"**_

"_**But you forget I'm just as vulnerable as I use fire; and this is your mind, not mine. So really, it's more unfair on me"**_

"_**Oh... I'll just shut up now"**_

_**Itachi smirked as he appeared behind Sakura, surprising her.**_

"_**What... What're you doing?"**_

"_**If you heal my Mankekyou, chances are I'll steal your eyesight again for a while. If that happens you will have to rely on your other four senses"**_

_**Sakura nodded "Smell, taste touch and my hearing"**_

"_**And let's face it, you sucked at that last time" **_

"_**HEY!-"**_

"_**Would you rather I lied to you?"**_

_**She looked away grumpily "...no"**_

"_**Well then"**_

_**Feeling the material covering her eyes, her fingers found a carving on a metal plate and traced her fingers along it.**_

_**She gasped "This is-"**_

"_**Your headband? Yes"**_

_**She felt the leaf insignia once more "But I thought you threw it away?"**_

"_**No, I just...removed it from your sight"**_

_**She could hear the smugness in his voice and sighed.**_

_**Sakura then gasped loudly and quickly pulled the headband down, Itachi watched as her eyes went wide.**_

"_**I can...see..."**_

_**Itachi smirked "I was beginning to worry you wouldn't notice. You're supposed to be a very observant kunoichi"**_

_**He was surprised that she ignored his snide little comment as she walked towards him. **_

_**Sakura felt him flinch as she laid a hand on his cheek**_

"_**Are you really real?" she asked**_

"_**In a matter of speaking, yes"**_

"_**I'd almost forgotten how perfect you looked" **_

_**Itachi raised both of his eyebrows "What was that?"**_

_**Sakura's eyes widened "I didn't just say that out loud did I?"**_

_**He nodded.**_

"_**Oh god..." she felt her cheeks warming up and turned around**_

_**Her face reddened even more as she felt Itachi rest his chin on her shoulder, his breath warming her ear**_

"_**So you think I look perfect do you?"**_

_**Slowly, Sakura nodded and Itachi couldn't help but smirk. She bit her lip harder as she felt Itachi twirl her hair around his index finger, her breathing becoming a little heavier.**_

"_**And how do you think I see you?"**_

"_**Annoying" but she soon regretted speaking that word so quickly. It brought back the memories when Sasuke had called her that on more than one occasion.**_

"_**Just because Sasuke thought of you like that, does not mean that I do too"**_

"_**So...what do you think of me?"**_

"_**The exact opposite of annoying"**_

"_**Which is?"**_

"_**Un-annoying"**_

_**Sakura twirled back round to face him "That's not a proper answer"**_

"_**You want a proper answer Sakura?"**_

"_**Yes"**_

"_**Well I can't give you one"**_

"_**I don't understand, why not?"**_

"_**Because, you're something special Sakura, you're unlike anything I've ever come across before. I feel like I don't have to pretend around you because you won't judge me on what I am...Just who I am"**_

_**Sakura lowered her eyes, moving closer so she was slightly touching his cloak**_

"_**Why are you telling me this?"**_

"_**What?"**_

"_**Why are you being so open with me?"**_

"_**Because I know...I can trust you Sakura. I'm not as cold as everyone thinks, I can trust those I deem to be trustworthy"**_

"_**Can you love?"**_

"_**Hm?"**_

"_**I said that out loud again didn't I?" she asked smacking her forehead**_

_**She watched as Itachi chuckled, that was a yes then.**_

"_**Would you really like to find out the answer to that question?"**_

_**Sakura took a deep breath as he leaned his face closer to hers, shivering as she felt his lips brush against hers.**_

"_**Itachi..." she groaned**_

_**He chuckled once again "Don't moan too loudly now, I'm sure Sasuke will probably hear you"**_

_**Her jaw tightened "I do not moan THAT loudly"**_

"_**I beg to differ actually"**_

_**Sakura's face paled. Had she moaned in her sleep within the month that she was travelling with him?**_

_**Feeling embarrassment creeping up again, she tried to change the subject.**_

"_**So how come I can see right now...?"**_

"_**Avoiding the subject are we? I thought you wanted an answer?" he smirked**_

"_**Itachi!"**_

"_**Maybe another time then"**_

_**Sakura nodded **_

"_**So, explanation for my eyesight please"**_

"_**You'd be surprised how unclouded your mind is when you sleep...most of the time"**_

"_**But when I wake up-"**_

"_**You will be blind again"**_

"_**Sleep never sounded so good" she grumbled**_

_**Itachi smirked "But while training yourself in your mind, you'll be using your own chakra, so you might feel slightly faint when you wake up"**_

"_**Fine by me, I'm attached to Sasuke with a chakra band so he'll give me all the chakra I need to heal myself"**_

"_**How convenient"**_

_**Suddenly everything around them began to shake, even the water became viscous. **_

"_**What's happening?" cried Sakura trying to keep her feet on the surface**_

_**Itachi looked around**_

"_**Sakura..." he began**_

_**He looked to the sky where black crows were flying above them and the sky had tuned a fiery red, with black clouds**_

'_**This looks too much like...no that's impossible'**_

"_**I think you're having a nightmare" he decided on**_

_**Sakura looked at him with wide eyes 'No! He can't be here for this'**_

"_**Itachi you have to leave!!"**_

"_**Why?"**_

"_**Just go!"**_

_**Suddenly she disappeared from Itachi's sight, only to reappear in the Cliffside.**_

_**Had something thrown her? He couldn't tell.**_

"_**Sakura what's going on?!"**_

_**She strained to look at him, her eyes pleading.**_

"_**Please go...before it's too late"**_

_**He could hear the pain in her voice, and it only made him all the more curious.**_

"_**I'm not leaving, not until you tell me...What?"**_

_**Itachi's eyes narrowed at the sight before him. Standing directly in front of Sakura with his back to Itachi was...Itachi?**_

"_**What's going on Sakura?!" he demanded**_

_**His eyes widened as she and his fake self vanished. Looking around frantically, he eventually found them, but he didn't like what he saw at all.**_

_**Sakura was up on a cross and the fake Itachi was holding a sword at his side.**_

'_**What the hell is happening here? This is the Mankekyou, but it can't be...this is Sakura's mind, how could she recreate my sharingan?'**_

_**His fears were confirmed as the fake Itachi raised the sword and lunged forward.**_

"_**SAKURA!!"**_

_**She looked up; tear streaked eyes widened as she saw the sword coming straight for her.**_

_**She opened her mouth to scream, but her mouth only managed to form an 'O' shape as the sword pierced her skin, going so far to come out the other side of the cross.**_

"_**NOOO!" bellowed Itachi as he rushed forward, the fake one disappearing as he ran through it**_

_**Ripping the sword from her chest, he pulled Sakura down from the cross and held her in his arms.**_

"_**Sakura?"**_

_**She didn't respond.**_

"_**Sakura!!" his voice cracked as he began to shake her shoulders**_

"_**Please wake up!" he muttered as he shook her harder**_

_**Slowly, the shaking ceased as hazed jade eyes opened. Looking at the man above her, she began to panic.**_

"_**No, not again! Please, not again!" she cried**_

"_**Sakura calm down" he urged trying to hold her still**_

"_**No...no! Let me go!"**_

**--**

"Sakura calm down!" urged a male voice

Clear jade eyes opened, seeing only a dark outline and faint red eyes was all she needed to fling her fist forward, sending the man flying backwards into the wall opposite.

"Um...Sakura?" came a timid voice

Sakura looked over to see Karin's chakra leaning over the bed beside her.

"Was that..." she began pointing towards the heap by the wall

Karin nodded.

Sakura smiled sheepishly as she looked over to see Sasuke's chakra clearly through her eyes.

"Oops..."

**--**

**Wow, that's took a while lol. Hope I didn't make Itachi took OOC, but I wanted him to start showing some affection towards Sakura, otherwise their relationship would never get anywhere lol**

**Well, I hope you all enjoyed it and you know reviews keep me happy. I'll try to write up the next chapter before I start college, GOD I AM SO NERVOUS!!**

**Okay I'll calm down and leave you to it xoxox**


	9. Healing

**Okay, first things first, I'm not dead, second.......... I'm SOOOORRRRRRYYYY!!!!!!!!!  
I can't believe how fast time has flown by since my last update; I'm ashamed of myself that I let this happen. But, it being my first year college and me picking the 4 subjects with really heavy coursework, I just haven't had the time for anything really. My life is just like sleep, eat and work and that's all. Which is why I'm soooo looking forward to my study leave, FOUR weeks off for TWO exams (I've already done 2 :P). Anyway, enough of my banter, I hope you enjoy the new chapter xxx**

**Chapter 9: Healing**

"Sorry Sasuke, I thought you were someone else" apologised Sakura as she placed a bandage around his head

He sighed softly "My brother...."

Sasuke felt her tense beside him.

"It doesn't matter" she stuttered

"What is it about him that attracts you to him?"

Sakura's face flushed "I never said I was attracted to him!"

"Why else would you of stayed with him for so long?"

"Sasuke, please try to understand this: it was heal him or die" she lied

"I know you Sakura; you would've found a loophole"

"I'm not sure I know myself right now...."

"Sakura...." his voice was softer

"Sorry Sasuke, but there are things even you wouldn't understand"

But as she went to leave, Sasuke grabbed her wrist and pulled her back onto his lap.

"Then make me understand"

"I...Can't"

"Why not?"

"I just can't, Sasuke let me go!"

Sasuke's grip on her thighs was as strong as iron and she realised her struggling was in vain. Sakura flinched as she felt Sasuke's lips on her shoulder. Slowly, he moved along her collar bone and nipped her skin. An involuntary gasp left Sakura's mouth as she felt the pressure on her bone.

"Sas...Sasuke..."

"Yessss?"

He felt her shiver as he licked the sensitive skin where he had just bitten.

"Why are you doing this now?" she breathed

Sasuke blinked at her in surprise, he wasn't expecting that sort of question.

"What-"

"We need to talk"

Sakura was looking straight ahead of her now, her small fists were scrunched up atop Sasuke's, he could literally feel the tension radiating off her.

"A walk then?"

She nodded and stood, allowing Sasuke to stand and lead the way out of the bathroom. As she passed the bedroom, Sakura looked over to the bed where Karin lay, fast asleep.

Slipping on one of Sasuke's jumpers, she quickly pulled on a pair of jeans which Sasuke handed her and what she assumed where Karin's. Placing her feet in her shoes, she glanced at Sasuke, who she could tell was already dressed.

He nodded and opened the door for her. Closing it quietly behind him, making sure he wouldn't wake Karin.

The two of them walked along the empty streets of Konoha, no one was about and the silence as relaxing.

"Where is everyone?" asked Sakura feeling no chakra's other than hers and Sasuke's

Sasuke looked at her quizzically "its 3am..."

"Oh...."

"Why would anyone be out at this time?"

"Sorry. But I don't usually wake up in the middle of the night, punch a guy then go for a walk"

Sasuke chuckled and Sakura stared at him, noticing her look he smirked.

"What?"

"Okay, what is wrong with you?"

"Huh?"

"Throughout all the years I've known you, there was never a time where you cracked an emotion"

Sasuke's eyes saddened '_none that you saw anyways...._'

"And now you smile, heck you just laughed! I just don't get it, what's changed?"

"I realised....just how much you mean to me"

Sakura stood still, frozen by his words.

"Sakura? Are you okay?"

When she didn't respond, he grew panicky and stood in front of her. Her eyes were wide like she was scared; and she was staring right at him, but not him himself, but what was behind him, like he wasn't really there at all.

He put his hand to her neck to feel her pulse, it was still beating and his touch seemed to pull her from her daze. Sasuke looked at her; she seemed different from a few minutes ago.

"Sasuke....?" she gasped

"What happened?"

Still she continued to stare at him, like she couldn't quite grasp that he was actually there.

"Sakura-"

She cut him off "you have a bruise on your forehead"

Sasuke stared at her in disbelief "what did you just say?"

"You have a bruise....right there" she said as she poked it

"OW!" growled Sasuke grabbing his forehead in pain

"Sorry, I didn't think you were real. Am I not still asleep then?"

"Sakura, you're awake"

"But that means...."

"You can see me?"

Sakura nodded.

"What about this.....this.....and this?" he asked waving his hand in random directions

He watched as her eyes followed his every movement, only then did he notice her eyes seemed a lot clearer than they had been yesterday night.

"I can see!"

Sasuke let out a grunt as Sakura hugged him suddenly.

"I can see...."

Her voice was quieter now, he noticed her breathing hitch and realised she was crying. Hugging her back just as tightly, he tried to sooth her by gently stroking her hair.

"I can see..." she muttered before sleep claimed her

"I guess we'll talk another time" he smiled as he picked her up and made his way back to his apartment.

Taking one last glance at Sakura, he smiled again.

"I'll be back soon"

Then he was gone in a puff of smoke.

**-_-_-_-A good few hours later-_-_-_-**

Sakura yawned and stretched her arms out.

"Finally awake huh?"

Sakura looked towards the voice to find Karin looking at her through the doorway.

"I see you got your eyesight back earlier than you predicted"

There was something in Karin's voice that Sakura couldn't quite put her finger on, was it disapproval? Did Karin not want her to have her eyesight back just yet?

"Karin? Is something wrong?"

She looked at her, pushing her glasses up as she sighed.

"Has anything changed now?"

Sakura caught on to what she meant and her eyes narrowed.

"No"

Karin nodded and walked away to the living room where she sat and closed her eyes. Feeling a lack of warmth, Sakura looked at her wrist. The chakra band was still there, but barely visible and there was no string attached. Picking herself up, Sakura realised she was back in her PJs.

"Hey Karin?"

"Hm?"

She opened an eye as Sakura approached her.

"Did you change me back into my PJs?"

Karin gave her a weird look "you've changed since last night?"

Sakura thought over her answer until she finally understood. Sasuke had changed her clothes.

"Are you okay? You've gone all red" asked Karin

Sakura looked at her "I'm fine....where's Sasuke?

"He's probably gone to see Naruto. He was gone before I woke up"

"That's odd"

"What is?"

Sakura held up her wrist "there's no string anymore"

"That's weird. He probably trusts you not to run away anymore"

"Well I can't..... Not yet anyway"

"Hm?"

"I'm going to force him to tell me how to heal this damn scar before I leave. It's such a pain in the-"

"I'm back"

"Hi Sasuke" both girls chimed nervously

He eyes them both suspiciously "What's going on?"

"N-nothing" they stuttered

"Where did you go?" Sakura quickly asked

"To see Naruto"

Karin threw Sakura a _**told you so **_look, but meant it in a nice way.

Sakura nodded "That was nice of him"

"You know, your attitude has changed a lot since yesterday"

"Guess it was just stress from being blind" she lied

"Any idea how they healed so quickly?"

She shrugged "My only guess is that the effect from the Sharingan wore off"

"Do you still need my chakra?"

Sakura nodded again "I'm almost running on empty and..."

"And?"

"And I want to heal the scar"

"I don't know if I can Sakura..."

The mood immediately shifted to a tense one as Sakura glared at the raven haired ninja.

"You will teach me how to heal this scar, or I will scrape it off with a kunai"

"Okay" he said quickly "I'll try"

Sakura calmed slightly "That's better"

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

"Sasuke, why are we up here?" Sakura asked as she and the raven haired teen walked along the grass beneath the huge waterfall

"It's peaceful, we can concentrate better here"

She nodded and continued to follow him. Sasuke led her to the water's edge and looked at the waterfall.

"What now Sasuke?"

He smirked at her "follow me"

With that he took her hand and pulled her along as he raced over the water's surface. It was then Sakura realised he was heading straight for the rushing water.

"Sasuke! The waterfall!!"

"Hold your breath!"

She didn't have time to make any other choice, because as soon as she had taken a breath of air; Sasuke jumped and dived underwater, taking her with him as well.

Sakura felt the pounding water on her back as Sasuke pulled her up to swim alongside him; she mentally glared at him as he smirked at her.

'_He could've at least told me to dress for swimming_'

The two of them swam for a few more minutes and Sakura could tell they were way past the waterfall as the water here was a lot calmer.

'_Where is he taking me?_' she pondered as she glanced at him

He then began to swim upwards; Sakura kicked harder and broke the surface first. She coughed a few times before looking around; well at least she tried to. She heard Sasuke come up and grabbed hold of him, closing her eyes in the process.

"Sakura?"

"It's dark" she muttered

"Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark?"

He felt her nod against his chest.

'_It's just like water, you can't catch it_' she thought to herself as he grip on Sasuke tightened

"C'mon scaredy cat"

Sakura let him pull her through the water until she found the edge and climbed up, rubbing her arms to make herself warmer.

"Katon no Jutsu"

Then suddenly there was light, and Sakura's eyes were as wide as footballs. They were in a cave, and it was sparkly.

"What are those?"

Sasuke looked from Sakura to the walls she was looking at.

"Those are crystals formed by the constant running water and steam"

"They're beautiful.....what steam?"

He pointed to a large pool in the centre of the cave. Sakura "ooohed" and walked over to it, putting her finger in the water but withdrew it immediately.

"It's cold" she pouted

"It won't be for long"

She watched as he walked over to the wall behind the pool and placed his hand on it. After a few moments he stepped back and performed a few hand seals, igniting his fire technique again. A thin line of fire shot from his mouth and into a small hole in the wall. A few minutes passed by and Sasuke kept the fire going, Sakura felt the room get hotter and looked over at the pool where steam was now rising.

"How did you do that?" she asked placing her hand in the now warm pool

Sasuke shut his mouth, stopping the fire and placed a rock in the gap to trap the heat.

"There are pipes that run through the walls and underground. Some of them are connected to that pool"

"That's really clever, but what is this place?"

"It's somewhere I can go when I want to be alone. The water in the pool also has some sort of ingredient that helps healing"

"Sounds absurd" scoffed Sakura

"Oh it's not, because I specifically requested the ingredients from Tsunade herself"

"What Tsunade?"

He nodded "When I first returned I asked her if there was some place I could go if I wanted to relax or heal by myself. She gave me a bag of herbs and told me to come here. Then I did the place up a bit"

"It's amazing"

"So this water should help the scar heal"

Sakura smiled and touched his arm.

"What?"

"I think its sweet you're going to such an extent just to help me"

Placing both his hands on her shoulders, his face turned to sadness.

"It's my fault. I broke you, so it's my responsibility to fix you"

"Sasuke...."

Sakura was at a loss for words, she felt herself being drawn into his black orbs.

'_No! This wasn't supposed to happen! I'm not supposed to fall for him again, not after everything I've been through!_'

While she was screaming at herself inside her head, she found she just couldn't pull away from his touch, so she knew she had to make him pull away from her.

"So, about this healing then?" she muttered

Sasuke's hands dropped to his sides and he nodded.

"The towels are over there" he pointed and led the way over to them

He handed Sakura one then grabbed one himself.

"Turn around and **don't **look" she ordered

Sasuke smirked at her before turning round. He could hear the sound of her wet clothes slapping against the rocks as she removed them from her body.

"Okay, I'm done"

Sasuke turned and instantly felt the heat rush to his lower half. The towel only came down to her mid-thigh and it hugged her body nicely.

"Okay, go get in the pool and warm up"

Sakura nodded making her way past him.

"Oh and Sakura?"

She turned "hm?"

A huge smirk spread out across his face "don't look"

Sakura felt her cheeks heat up, but knew she couldn't let him see her embarrassment. So turning around and holding her head high she scoffed at him.

"Don't flatter yourself Uchiha"

With that, she slipped into the pool and rested her head on a rock.

Closing her eyes she let out a long sigh "oh this feels so good"

"Glad you think so"

She heard a small splash and opened one eye to see Sasuke's torso go underwater. She then stared at his head floating above the water and tried to suppress a giggle.

He frowned "what?"

"DUCK BUTT!!"

She couldn't hold it back any longer. Sakura closed her eyes and full out laughed in his face, splashing water everywhere at the same time.

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

Karin hummed quietly to herself as she watered a vase of flowers she had recently bought from Ino's flower shop.

"I gotta hand it to the Yamanaka's; they really know what they're doing"

She was so occupied with that she was doing she failed to notice the intruder enter her home, until it was too late. He had her pinned by the throat up against the wall in a matter of seconds, the glass vase falling and smashing on the ground.

"Y.....you....it was true......she healed your eyes" she managed to choke out as she slammed her eyes shut

"And what a marvellous job she did. Now, where is **my **little medic?"

"I....I don't know"

"Tell me or I'll make you open your eyes"

Karin gasped quietly as she remembered something from the previous day.

**-­_-_-**_**Flashback**_**-_-_-**

"_**So you did want his attention?"**_

"_**Well I guess, but not in the way I used to. I'd admired him for so long, I just wanted him to see me for who I really am" she paused and took a breath "And the only way to do that was to leave and become stronger by myself"**_

"_**And what about Itachi?"**_

"_**What about him?"**_

"_**Did you really heal his eyes?"**_

"_**To an extent, yes"**_

"_**To an extent? Why not completely?"**_

"_**I ran out of chakra and became temporarily blind"**_

**-_-_-**_**End Flashback**_**-_-_-**

"You aren't completely healed"

Itachi's eyes narrowed "So?"

"So you can't use your Mankekyou, you can't torture me in your sick little world"

"True, but I can torture you right here can't I?"

Karin gulped, she knew he was right and he knew it too. But she really didn't know where Sasuke and Sakura were at the present time, they had disappeared without saying anything to her.

'_Oh this cannot be happening to me...._'

Then her world went black.

**--**

Itachi looked at the frail girl on the floor. He hadn't killed her, just knocked her unconscious. Killing her would alert the guards, but if he hadn't of knocked her out she would've alerted the guards anyway. So in his eyes, they had both been relieved of something. She still had her life, and he was still undetected by everyone.

"I will find you Sakura"

Then he was gone from the apartment, scouting the whole of Konoha in various disguises.

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

"Okay Sasuke, tell me how this healing works then"

"You're not going to like the first bit" he sighed

"Why?"

In an instant, the towel from around her body was now in his hands.

"Perv!!! Give it back!"

"I told you that you wouldn't like the first bit. Look, if it makes you feel any better, I have to take my towel off to" he said as he threw both towels to the side.

Sakura sunk her body lower into the water '_Thank god this water is so steamy_'

"Better?"

"Kind of, but why do we have to be naked?"

"So my chakra doesn't confuse our towels for your skin"

Sakura grumbled underwater making bubbles by her mouth.

"Okay, turn around"

Sakura did as she was told and turned so her back was facing Sasuke. When she heard him growl she looked back at him over her shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

He placed his hands on her back gently and lightly rubbed the scar.

"Did it hurt?"

She wanted to snap at him and say '_**yes it nearly killed me and it's all your fault!!**_' but then she remembered what Karin had said about him being out for a week afterwards because he was trying not to lose control and kill her.

So instead she sighed "Kind of"

"...I'm sorry..."

"I know Sasuke....I know"

**-_-_-_-_-**

"Well hello there little child, how may I help you?" gleamed the blonde Hokage from across his desk

"Do you know where Sasuke-San is?" the small black haired boy answered

"Why do you want him?"

"I have a message for him from Karin-Chan"

"Ah, well my guess is he may be at the Great Waterfall"

"Hai Hokage-Sama"

The little boy nodded and ran from the room. Glancing back his eyes burned red as he smirked.

'_That was just too easy_'

As he ran through the thick forest which led to the waterfall, his body grew taller and leaner and his hair grew longer.

Soon, he was standing at the edge of the forest looking at the huge waterfall.

Tying his hair back into its usual small pony tail he chuckled "too easy"

**-_-_-_-_-**

"Okay, now concentrate your chakra on your back"

Sakura nodded and urged her chakra to her back. When Sasuke saw the green glow in-between her shoulder blades and along her spine, he pulled away slightly and performed a few hand signs.

"Sakura, don't panic, just concentrate"

"What? Why?"

"Just trust me"

The final hand sign

"Chidori!"

Sakura's eyes shot open and her breathing became erratic.

"Sakura calm down, I'm not going to hurt you"

"Then why Chidori?"

"The electricity will boost your healing chakra and re-new the nerves in your back"

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"Yeah..."

"Why do you sound so unsure?"

"I've never done this on such a big wound"

"What?!"

"But it'll just take a little bit longer, that's all"

"Okay..."

"You ready?"

Sakura gulped "uh huh"

"Good, just concentrate"

She attempted to calm herself, shoving all the thoughts of a painful electric attack to the back of her mind. It surprised her so much when his hands touched her back and it didn't hurt she let out a gasp.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it feels....tingly"

Sasuke smiled "Then its working"

"I'm relieved" mumbled Sakura

"Hm?"

"I was scared you'd hurt me again"

"Sakura, I have no intention of doing that ever again"

"But, what about Karin?"

"I tried to replace you with her, but let's face it, she's not you. She is nothing compared to the real Sakura"

They both fell into an awkward silence. The only sound was a small sizzling noise coming from the small Chidori.

"Are you staying?"

Sakura looked at the water, trying to decide herself.

"I guess" she said still unsure

"It's good to have you back"

"Yeah...." she whispered weakly

'_I need to get away from here before this heartache kills me..._'

An hour passed and she had decided. She was leaving again. She was leaving her friends. She was leaving this new, kind Sasuke. She was leaving and not looking back. But was she doing this for her sake, or theirs?

"How're you holding up?"

"I'm alright"

"It's healing nicely, it's almost done now"

"Good"

"Sakura, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, I guess"

"What would you say if I asked you to stay with me?"

"What?"

"Stay with me, please"

"Sasuke, I...." she as at a loss for words again

'_Itachi get me out of here!_'

The next thing that made her gasp out loud was the silky smooth voice in her head.

'_**My pleasure**_'

Then the explosion happened.

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\**

**Well, that's the end of this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed and I hope it makes up for my lack of updating; I'll try to get more up soon. Oh and Happy (late) Easter everyone!**

**Until next time xxx**


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